Dispensers are known which introduce and dispense in a main stream of high pressure fluid a second fluid, such as soap or detergent, or other chemicals mixed in a liquid solution. Soap dispensers are commonly used for introducing soap into a stream of water which is dispensed by a nozzle or is used to drive a water wheel in a rotary scrub brush.
Existing soap dispensers of this type suffer from a number of disadvantages including relatively high costs of manufacture, difficulty of cleaning the parts and a relatively large number of parts.
To reduce the cost of manufacturing, attempts have been made to make the dispensers of all, or virtually all, plastic molded parts. By way of example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,447,753 and 3,770,205 provide for the injection molding of four separate parts and the assembly of ten parts.
The present invention allows the construction of an improved dispenser. With the ever increasing costs for manufacture and labor, providing fewer parts in the ultimate assembly will have a direct effect on the cost of production for the product. Such efficiency enables the manufacturer to provide the product at a lower price. By way of contrast, the devices in the above patents involve a housing, a ball valve rotatable in the housing and a main passage through the housing and the ball valve. An auxiliary passage extends from an upstream portion of the main passage through the housing, to a secondary fluid reservoir at the bottom of the housing, then through the housing, back to a downstream portion of the main passage. A disc held on the end of the ball valve by a fragile plastic clip, closes and opens the openings to the reservoir in the auxiliary passage. O-rings, two in all, are required; one placed around each of the openings so that the valve member can close off the auxiliary passage. Also, due to the fragileness of the clip, repeated or improper use of the clip may break it. Additionally, two O-rings are required; one above and one below the main passage, for sealing between the top ball valve and the housing in which it rotates.